FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT CLAY HARBOR - PAGE 5

If he is healthy, Michael Vick will start at quarterback Sunday against the New England Patriots, Eagles coach Andy Reid said Monday. Vick's two broken ribs kept him out of Sunday night's game, so the if is significant. But after Vince Young's performance in the Eagles' 17-10 victory over the New York Giants in which he led the Eagles on an 18-play, game-winning drive in the fourth quarter, Reid may not feel as compelled to hurry Vick back. Young, though, was erratic in the first 28 minutes.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Brent Celek suffered a mild sprain in his right knee during practice Thursday, the Eagles said. The tight end caught a pass during the early portion of the first full-squad practice of training camp, but left soon after. Celek was later seen walking out of the locker room at Lehigh University wearing a wrap around his knee. "I'll be good," Celek said. "Promise. " Celek entered camp completely healthy, according to the team. This offseason, he underwent hip surgery and had a sports hernia repaired.

The Eagles have 15 rookies from 2010 who are returning for their second year without having the benefit of the usual offseason. Daily News Eagles beat writer Les Bowen breaks down what to expect from each player: Brandon Graham: The first-round defensive end might not have been ready for the Opening-Day starting job he was given. Graham managed two sacks in his first five games, then one in the next eight before tearing his right ACL Dec. 12 at Dallas. Started only two of the last eight games he played.

Andy Reid or Ray Lewis may say that the Michael Vick who threw four interceptions against the Browns will not reappear Sunday in the Eagles' home opener, but only the quarterback, really, has any inkling. And Vick may not even know himself. Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens can make even the best quarterbacks look foolish. But since Vick's hellish performance in Cleveland, every analyst, professional or otherwise, from ESPN to the office watercooler, has chimed in on what is ailing the 32-year-old quarterback.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Just about everything was different this week. The quarterback was new and sharp late. The defense was stifling. And when the game got tight, the Eagles made the biggest plays, winning by 17-10 on the road against the Giants. For the first time in weeks, there was joy in the Eagles locker room. Vince Young threw a third-down strike for the winning touchdown, and as the Giants drove on the ensuing drive, Jason Babin stripped Eli Manning and Derek Landri recovered.

The Eagles offense should get a boost this week, though it might arrive too late to save the team's season. For the last four weeks, the offense that started hot has been missing at least one of its top weapons. Michael Vick, Jeremy Maclin, and DeSean Jackson have not played together since the team's Nov. 7 loss to the Chicago Bears. All are expected to be on the field Sunday, putting the team's top talent back into the passing game and possibly helping others. "It definitely opens the offense up for everybody else," Vick said.

AS THIS season trudges to an inglorious finish, the Eagles needed to make a roster move to bring aboard fullback/tight end Emil Igwenagu, so he could back up Clay Harbor, with Brent Celek sidelined for Thursday's game against Cincinnati. That move was to place defensive tackle Mike Patterson on the nonfootball injury-illness list, ending Patterson's season, agent Peter Schaffer said. But that isn't the part that has Schaffer angry enough to plan to file a grievance with the NFLPA.

The Eagles reached a new level of futility in the second half of Thursday's 34-13 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals when turnovers came so fast that they could barely execute a play without committing one. At one point, the Eagles turned the ball over on three consecutive plays and four times in five plays - a feat so laughable that the few fans remaining at Lincoln Financial Field could barely muster the deafening boos they would ordinarily dispense....

CLEVELAND - Standing under a scoreboard that showed the Eagles trailing the Cleveland Browns late in the fourth quarter, running back LeSean McCoy admitted to a worry that was likely widespread among Eagles fans. "Not this again," McCoy said. Michael Vick noticed his teammates wondering what was wrong with their quarterback, that Vick hung his head because of the overbearing guilt of "letting my team down. " It appeared an offseason spent trying to solve 2011's problems was a failure.

The subject was Brent Celek, and the double sports hernia surgery and hip surgery the Eagles' starting tight end underwent at the end of the 2011 season. Clay Harbor, Celek's backup, was amazed. "That's big-time," Harbor said during Eagles OTAs this week. "My rookie season [2010], I played with one sports hernia. I was struggling?...?it was hard. I remember Brent coming off [the field] midway through the season saying, ‘I really gotta get this checked out. It's really starting to hurt.' We found out he had a [double]